Here are the 10 best Christmas tech gifts under $100

Christmas is not that far away, but plenty of you out there might have put off getting gifts until the last minute. That moment has now arrived, and some of you might not know what to get your family, friends, or colleagues.

Good news! There are plenty of quality gift ideas out there that should make anyone happy, and they don’t all cost an arm and a leg. Here are our picks for the 10 best Christmas gifts you can buy for under $100.

Roku Ultra 4K streaming media box

Best Christmas gifts - Roku

If your family or friends are interested in turning their television into a truly smart TV, the Roku Ultra 4K streaming media box is the best way to do just that. It supports streaming even from 4K video services, and they can even connect the box physically to a network router with its built-in Ethernet port for the best possible data connection. The Roku Ultra also comes with a remote that supports voice commands for searching for your favorite TV show or movie without a lot of tedious button pushing. It even ships with a pair of JBL headphones, which connect to the remote.

Editor’s Pick

The Roku OS offers access to thousands of streaming services, including all the major ones like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and others. The Roku Channel also offers a selection of movies and TV shows for free, with ads. You can get the Roku Ultra from Amazon right now for $79.99.

Amazon Echo smart speaker

Best Christmas gifts - Echo

The leading smart speaker brand comes from Amazon, and it’s easy to see why. The Echo lineup of smart speakers lets people get information like news and weather with just their voice, along with fun stuff like playing music playlists, games, and more. You can even use Echo smart speakers to send commands to other smart devices, go shopping on Amazon, and more.

Editor’s Pick

The standard Amazon Echo speaker not only looks good, with its stitched fabric material you can get in different colors, but it also sounds great, thanks to its 2.5-inch woofer and its 0.6-inch tweeter. You can get this great Christmas gift at the moment on Amazon for just $69.99.

Barnes & Noble Nook tablet

Best Christmas gifts- Nook Barnes & Noble

Amazon’s family of Fire tablets are made for budget audiences, but they are limited by Fire OS and its app system. Installing standard Android apps requires side loading the Google Play Store, which can be a pain for anyone who gets one as a gift this holiday.

Editor’s Pick

Barnes & Noble is trying once again to go after Amazon’s tablet audience with its latest Nook tablet. It has a 7-inch IPS display and a resolution of 600 x 1,024. There’s 16GB of onboard storage which can be expanded to 128GB with the built-in microSD slot. Best of all, this is a true Android tablet, which means the person who gets this gift can download almost any Android app via the Google Play store. You can snap up the new Barnes & Noble Nook tablet right now for just $49.99, either online or at your closest Barnes & Noble location.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite eReader

Best Christmas gifts - Kindle

 

Many of your friends or family might not want a full tablet, but they may still love to read. In that case, there’s really no better gift than the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite eReader. The e-ink screen it uses makes it easy to read text, and the 300 ppi glare-free display works great even in direct sunlight.

The standard Kindle Paperwhite has 8GB of storage — enough to store thousands of books. Users can even download magazines and audiobook to the Kindle Paperwhite. Amazon offers not just Wi-Fi hardware but also free cellular connections too, meaning your friends or family members can buy and download eBooks almost anywhere. Finally, the battery life should last at least a few weeks, even with heavy use. You can get the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite eReader right now for the special discount price of $99.99.

Nokia 2 smartphone

Best Christmas gifts - Nokia 2

Many people would like to get a new smartphone for the holidays, but you don’t have to spend tons of money to get one. The Nokia 2 comes in at $99, and it has a big 4,100mAh battery inside. Anyone you give this pone to should be able to use it for up to two days on a single charge, which could be pretty helpful.

The Nokia 2 also has a 5-inch display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of expandable onboard storage, an 8MP rear camera, and a 5MP front camera. It’s not really meant as a primary phone, but given its price and battery life, this can be a great gift for anyone who wants a secondary phone. It’s available now on Amazon, again for just $99.

JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth speaker

Best Christmas gifts - JBL

While smart speakers are cool, they don’t always offer the best sound quality. If your family or friends want a better audio experience while playing music from your smartphone, get a Bluetooth wireless speaker for them. Our sister site SoundGuys says the best Bluetooth speaker under $100 is the JBL Flip 4

Read more: Best Bluetooth speakers under $100

Not only does this speaker offer excellent sound quality for the price, it also has a Connect+ plus button. This allows the JBL Flip 4 to connect to up to 100 other speakers with this feature, which means you can buy one for each member of a family, and they can link them all up so the music plays everywhere. It’s also got a an IPX7 waterproof rating, which means your friends can take this to the pool once summer starts again with no worries. Finally, the battery should last up to 12 hours if they don’t have the volume all the way up. It’s available now on Amazon for $74.95.

Anker Soundcore Liberty Air wireless earbuds

Best Christmas gifts - Anker

More and more smartphones are shipping without the traditional headphone jack, which means your family and friends might be looking for some good wireless earbuds. Again, the team at SoundGuys has been trying them al. The best ones they found for under $100 is the Anker Soundcore Liberty Air earbuds.

Read more: Best wireless earbuds under $100

For such a low price for wireless earbuds, you get some solid audio quality with this Anker product, and it supports Bluetooth 5.0 for the best wireless connection. Indeed, our testing found these devices rarely dropped a signal, which is an issue with earbuds at lower price points. It only needs to be paired with your smartphone once, so when you take them out of the case, they should just work. They are also IPX5 certified for water resistance, which means they should be excellent for when you are working out at the gym. Finally, they have a battery life of up to 4.82 hours. They are available now from Amazon for $79.99

Samsung Wireless Charger Duo pad

Best Christmas gifts - Samsung Samsung.com

It’s likely some of your family and friends own a smartphone, or maybe even two, with wireless charging capabilities. It’s also possible that they own a smartwatch as well. For people who own both, you might want to get the Samsung Wireless Charger Duo pad, which can charge up two smartphones, or a phone and a smartwatch, at the same time.

Editor’s Pick

The larger pad supports any Qi-based smartphone, such as the Samsung Galaxy S9, the Galaxy Note 9,  or even phones like the Apple iPhone XSLG V40 ThinQ, and Google Pixel 3. The large pad can also be raised up so whoever gets this gift can watch videos hands-free on the phone while it charges up. The smaller pad can also charge up any Qi-based phone, or a smartwatch with the tech like the Samsung Galaxy Watch and the older Gear watches. It’s available now on Amazon for a discounted price of $79.84.

Anker PowerCore 20,100mAh portable charger

Best Christmas gifts - Anker

While wireless charging pads can be convenient, they are also not the fastest way to charge up your smartphone, nor are they usually all that compact. The Anker PowerCore 20,100mAh portable charger is the perfect gift for someone who wants to keep their phone powered up without the need to go searching for an open outlet.

Editor’s Pick

This portable charger should be able to power up their smartphone several times on a single charge with its large 20,100mAh battery. It also uses Anker’s own PowerIQ and VoltageBoost technology to charge up the phone as quickly as possible. In fact, it has two USB charging ports so it can handle two devices at the same time. Yet, for all of its capacity, it weighs just 12.5 ounces, which means it won’t be hard for whoever receives it to take it with them on a trip. It’s available on Amazon now for as low as $39.99.

Garmin vivofit 4 fitness tracker

Best Christmas gifts - Garmin

As we end 2018, many people are looking to 2019 as the year they finally get back in shape. If someone on your gift giving list wants to do that, one of the best ways they can keep track of their physical activities is with a fitness tracker. The  Garmin vivofit 4 not only will allow them to do just that, but it also won’t hurt your wallet when you buy one for them.

Editor’s Pick

The vivofit 4 is much lighter and slimmer to wear than a standard smartwatch, yet it can keep track of the number of steps your gift receiver takes, how many calories they have burned, and more. It even has a feature called Move IQ, which will automatically detect if they are walking, running, biking, using an elliptical, or swimming. Its color display is easy to read, its battery life should last up to a year, and it’s IP5 certified for water resistance, which means you can swim in the pool while wearing it. You can get the Garmin vivofit 4 from Amazon for $59.99.

Affiliate disclosure: We may receive compensation in connection with your purchase of products via links on this page. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. See our disclosure policy for more details.

Source: Android Zone

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Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 will slide into the United Kingdom

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 - slider mechanism

  • The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 will reportedly land in the United Kingdom early next year.
  • The standout feature of the Mi Mix 3 is its sliding display, which enables a notch-less, all-screen experience.
  • There’s no word on what the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 will cost.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is one of 2018’s most exciting devices. Its sliding display mechanism (which uses magnets!) gives it a novelty edge as well as a practical solution to the problem of the notch — the front-facing camera and various sensors are hidden behind the slider.

Now, it looks like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 is going to land in the United Kingdom early next year, according to Gizmodo.

We don’t know an exact date for the launch of the device, and we don’t know a price, either. However, the Mi Mix 3 sells for competitive prices in its native China. Here’s how that breaks down:

  • 3,299 yuan (~$479) for the 6GB+128GB model
  • 3,599 yuan (~$523) for the 8GB+128GB model
  • 3,999 yuan (~$581) for the 8GB+256GB model
Editor’s Pick

Judging from these numbers, it’s probably safe to assume the Mi Mix 3 will sell in the price range of 430 pounds — 530 pounds, give or take. Hopefully, Xiaomi doesn’t pull a Vivo and try to charge a much higher price for the same device in the U.K. as it does in China and India.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 comes with a 6.39-inch AMOLED screen (2,340 x 1,080, 19.5:9 screen ratio), Snapdragon 845 processor, 3,200mAh battery, rear fingerprint scanner, dual cameras on the front and back, and Android 9 Pie out of the box.

Although the rollout of Xiaomi products in the United Kingdom didn’t go as smoothly as the company would have liked, U.K. residents are still lucky to have the ability to buy Xiaomi products at all. Here in the U.S., we’re still stuck ordering from third-party online companies.

NEXT: Xiaomi’s Gamepad 2.0 turns the Black Shark into a mini Nintendo Switch

Source: Android Zone

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How to Make a Niche Review Site in WordPress Like a Pro

Do you want to create an online reviews site? Writing reviews of your favorite products allows you to help others make a buying decision while also earning referral fees, known as affiliate commissions. In this article, we will show you how to create a niche review site in WordPress and make money from it.

Making a review site with WordPress

Why Create a Reviews Site?

What’s the first thing that you do when you’re looking to buy something online?

If you’re like most of us, then you check the online reviews of that product to see what others are saying about it.

This is why a popular online review site, TripAdvisor, is worth roughly $8.5 billion dollars.

Now while everyone cannot be as big as TripAdvisor, we know several folks that are earning anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month from running a niche review site.

There are two popular ways of creating a reviews site. The first is to add a reviews section on your existing WordPress blog. The second is to create a completely independent online reviews site.

Regardless of the direction you choose, it’s important that you don’t pick a highly competitive niche.

For example, there are tons of sites talking about digital camera reviews, but not as many that are talking about camera accessory reviews.

The secret to building a successful review site is to find the right niche. A perfect niche has low competition, and it should be something that you’re passionate about.

Here are a few factors to think about:

  • What resources can you offer to build traffic?
  • Can you easily attract advertisers? (i.e are there people selling paid products)
  • Are there affiliate programs available?
  • Are other people making money in this niche?
  • What is the competition like?

You can use tools like SEMRush, Ahrefs, and Google Keyword Planner to help with research.

Once you have picked your niche, let’s take a look at how you can create a reviews site.

Step 0. Before You Start

Before you start your website, you need to choose the right blogging platform. Ofcourse WordPress is #1, but there are actually two different types of WordPress.

First, there is WordPress.com which is a limited hosted platform. Second, you have the popular WordPress.org also called self-hosted WordPress which is what you typically hear about when you hear WordPress. To understand the difference, see our comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.

We recommend using WordPress.org because it gives you full freedom to create any kind of website. It also gives you full access to all WordPress features out of the box.

To get started with WordPress, you’ll need a good WordPress hosting and your own domain name.

We highly recommend Bluehost because they are an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider and one of the largest hosting companies in the world.

Not to mention, they are giving our users a free domain and 63% off their hosting plan (special for WPBeginner users).

→ Click Here to Claim This Exclusive Bluehost Offer ←

If you want a Bluehost alternative, then take a look at Siteground who also offer an exclusive discount to WPBeginner readers.

Once you have signed up for hosting and set up your domain name, the next step is to install WordPress. With Bluehost, WordPress comes pre-installed. Most other hosting companies offer 1-click WordPress install option. We have created a step by step guide on how to install WordPress which covers every major hosting platform.

Once you have your WordPress site setup, you will reach the WordPress dashboard.

WordPress dashboard

Step 1. Choosing the Perfect WordPress “Review” Theme

The first step after setting up your WordPress site is to select a perfect WordPress theme.

When you’re searching for best WordPress review themes, you will likely come across several themes that offer complete review-site functionality baked into the theme. You need to avoid those at all cost.

You don’t need a WordPress review site template. Most of those WordPress review themes are bloated and will lock you into using them forever.

That’s why it’s better to use a WordPress reviews plugin because plugins will work with any theme/design that you choose.

You will have the flexibility to change your themes in the future without having to hire a developer.

We have an article that will help you find the perfect theme and install it in WordPress.

Basically, pick a theme that you like in terms of look and feel. We will show you how to add the reviews functionality in the next step.

Step 2. Installing the best WordPress Reviews Plugin

First thing you need to do is install and activate the WP Product Review Lite plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

This base plugin is available for free and comes with all essential features. However, you may need to upgrade to the premium version of the plugin to unlock advanced features.

WP Product Review plugin is easy to use, and it helps you stand out in search engines by adding schema markup for your reviews.

In plain English, it adds those star ratings next to your reviews in Google to help you stand out.

Rich snippets in Google search

Upon activation, you will notice a new menu item labeled ‘Product Review’ in your WordPress admin menu. Clicking on it will take you to the plugin’s settings page.

WP Product Review settings

The settings page is divided into different sections. First, you need to set up the general settings.

Start by selecting where you want to display the review box. There are three options to choose from. You can show the review box after the content, before the content, or you can manually add it using the shortcode.

The next option is to choose whether you want to allow users to add their reviews as comments. If you allow this, then you also need to select how much influence user reviews will have on the actual review.

After that, you need to choose the numbers of options, pros, and cons that you want to be displayed. By default, the plugin will allow you to add 5 of each. You can adjust that as needed.

Now move on to the rating colors tab in settings. This is where you can define the default colors used by the plugin for ratings. WP Product review uses different colors for excellent, good, not bad, and weak ratings.

Choose rating colors

You can change the rating colors to match with your theme design.

Next, click on the ‘Typography’ tab in the settings. This is where you can choose the default text for pros and cons columns. You can also change the text colors for different sections.

Typography

The final tab on the settings page is the buy button. On this tab, you can select the colors you want to use for the buy button.

Buy button will also have your affiliate link, so it is important that you choose a color that’s likely to stand out, so more users can click on it.

Buy button

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save All Changes’ button to store your settings.

Step 3: Adding a Review in WordPress

Adding a review using WP Product Review plugin is quite easy. Simply edit or create a new post in WordPress.

You will write your main review like you would write any other post in WordPress.

On the post edit screen, scroll down to the bottom, and you will find the ‘Product review extra settings’ meta box. You need to click on ‘Yes’ next to the option ‘Is this a review post?’.

Product review settings

This will expand the meta box, and you will now see the additional settings for your review.

First, you need to provide product details like images, buy now button text, product or affiliate link, and product price.

Product details

After that, you need to add specific product features and your grade score for that respective feature.

Product options

Next you will add the pros and cons lists. You need to add the best features of the product in the pros list and the features it lacked in the cons list.

Pros and cons

Once you are done, simply save or publish your post.

You can now visit the post to see the review box in action.

Review box

Step 4. Displaying Your Reviews in Sidebar

WP Product Review allows you to show your review posts in the sidebar and other widget-ready areas.

Visit Appearance » Widgets page, and you will find the top products and the latest products widgets.

Latest products widget

Simply add the widget to a sidebar and configure its options. You can select the number of products you want to display, product title and image display settings. Once you are done, click on the save button.

Next, go ahead and visit your website to see the reviews widget in action. It will show the latest reviews with ratings and product image.

Reviews in sidebar widget

Step 5. Making Money From Your Reviews Site

Reviews site are a great way to generate passive income on the side. There are multiple ways to make money from your niche review site.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing allows you to make money from your reviews by recommending products on your website. You earn a commission when users click on your referral link and buy the product.

You will need to find products that have an affiliate program. The easiest way to find awesome products in every niche is by joining a large affiliate network like ShareAsale or Amazon Associates.

To learn more, see our beginner’s guide to affiliate marketing with detailed instructions and tools/plugins you’ll need to grow your business.

2. Advertisements

Most websites on the internet generate their revenue by displaying ads. You get paid either for impressions or when a user clicks on the ad from your website.

The easiest way to displays ads on your reviews site is by using Google AdSense. This gives you access to thousands of advertisers who are looking for targetted audiences.

To learn more, see our guide on how to properly add Google AdSense to your WordPress site.

3. Paid Reviews

This direct approach allows you to cut the middleman and directly reach out to businesses that want their products to be reviewed.

You get paid for testing and writing your honest opinion of the product. This approach requires a lot of outreach and can influence the quality of your reviews.

For more ways to make money from your reviews site, see our list of proven ways to make money online.

Step 6. Taking Your Reviews Site to The Next Level

WordPress is a powerful platform, and it gives you access to thousands of awesome plugins that you can use to grow your reviews site.

Following are just some of the essential plugins that you can install right away.

For more plugin recommendations, see our list of the essential WordPress plugins for all websites.

Step 7. Improving Your WordPress Skills

WordPress is quite easy to use even for the beginners. However, occasionally you’ll need help in learning new things as your website grows. This is where WPBeginner can help.

WPBeginner is the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners. We have lots of helpful content which is created specifically for beginners, business owners, and bloggers.

Following are few of the helpful resources you will find on WPBeginner (all of them are completely free).

  • WPBeginner Blog – The central place for all our WordPress tutorials and guides.
  • WPBeginner Dictionary – Our WordPress glossary is the best place to familiarize yourself with the WordPress lingo
  • WPBeginner Videos – New WordPress users can start with these 23 videos to master WordPress.
  • WPBeginner on YouTube – Need more video instructions? Subscribe to our YouTube channel with more than 120,000 subscribers and 11 Million+ views.
  • WPBeginner Blueprint – Check out plugins, tools, and services we use on WPBeginner.
  • WPBeginner Deals – Exclusive discounts on WordPress products and services for WPBeginner users.

We hope this article helped you learn how to create a niche review site in WordPress like a pro. You may also want to see these actionable tips to get more traffic to your WordPress site.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Source: Wordpres

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